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Beginning in 2014, the Affordable Care Act will impose the new requirement that all people in the United States, with certain exceptions, have minimum essential health care insurance or they will be subject to a penalty. How this will affect your family will depend upon a number of issues. Already Insured If you have insurance

Article Highlights: A business that pays an independent contractor $600 or more in a year must file Form 1099-MISC. Form W-9 is used to collect the independent contractor’s data. Deadlines for issuing 2013 1099-MISCs are January 31, 2014 (to independent contractors) and February 28, 2014 (to the IRS). If you use independent contractors to perform

Article Highlights: Form W-4 is used to establish payroll-withholding amounts. Incorrectly completed W-4s can result in under-withholding and unexpected year-end tax liability. The IRS’s W-4 calculator is only suitable for simple returns. Commonly encountered problems in getting the W-4 completed to establish the proper amount of withholding. This time of year, many employers will request

Article Highlights: To avoid taxes on income you share with another person reported under your ID number, you need to file a nominee 1099 form. These rules do not apply to income shared with a spouse. You may need to file one or more 1099s. If you receive income in your name that actually belongs

Article Highlights: Without Congressional action, Social Security will become insolvent in 2033. Benefits could shrink to 77% of the current levels and/or payments could be delayed. Individuals need to take proactive steps to supplement Social Security. This subject comes up over and over again and Congress keeps kicking it down the road, not wanting to

Imagine after sending in your annual tax return, you receive a notice from the Internal Revenue Service saying that another return has already been filed using your name and Social Security number—and claiming a refund. Sound impossible? It can happen if you become one of a growing number of victims of tax return identity theft.

Too often natural disasters strike and serve as reminders that it’s important for both individuals and businesses to protect themselves against the potential financial consequences of such events. A few smart steps we recommend include making electronic backups of important records, including your insurance policies, tax returns, bank and credit card account information, and vital

If you’re not sure what the new health care law means to you, you’re not alone. A poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation revealed that just over a third of the public had tried to find out more information about the law—the Affordable Care Act—in recent months. About half of the respondents to the survey

Article Highlights The medical deduction AGI floor has increased to 10%, up from 7.5%. For taxpayers age 65 or older and their joint-filing spouses, the AGI floor remains at 7.5% until 2017. For all taxpayers subject to the alternative minimum tax (AMT), the AGI floor is 10%. If you itemize your deductions, it may be

Article Highlights: · The IRS Form W-9 is used to obtain independent contractors’ tax ID numbers. · Tax ID numbers are required when filing 1099s. · 1099-MISCs must be issued to independent contractors that are paid $600 or more during the year for performing services for a trade or business. If you used independent contractors